The increasing focus on quality assurance has made the career in software testing more promising and prominent today. Although testing is an integral part of SDLC, emphasis is given to keep it independent from development. In the past, testing was carried out after development was over. Today this has changed and the testing activity starts right from the requirements definition stage. In many organizations today, 'test driven development' is the norm. This increased focus on quality has greatly increased the scope of testing activity.
Gone are the days when software testing was considered second to software development. As organizations have given impetus towards ensuring quality, the focus on software testing and quality assurance is equal or even more than the software development activity. Software is present everywhere today in our lives and is becoming increasingly mission critical; ranging from simple e-commerce websites to complex avionics programs.
To ensure quality, it is extremely important to test and to make sure that the QA processes followed are impeccable. Nowadays companies just don't focus on detection of defects, but also on the prevention of such defects from occurring from the beginning. That's why they adopt standards like CMM, ISO, Six Sigma, etc. Even some IT companies have started positioning themselves as Independent Software Testing (IST) service providers who provide specialized software testing to other organizations to test their products or to device software testing practices for their processes.
Software testing is fast emerging as a lucrative career option and has significantly moved away from the notion that if someone can't make in development, then he will settle down in testing.
Career Prospects
As the software testing is becoming more focused towards specialized and niche segments, the software testing professionals have many interesting options to design their career path based on these verticals. They can either move towards the world of business applications by moving into functional testing where they should have the domain knowledge of the filed; on the other hand they can plunge into the world of technology by focusing on automation testing.
A fresher who enters the industry as a test engineer can choose the testing line or else move towards the quality assurance line where he can become QA lead and then QA manager. A typical career path for a professional tester would unfold as a junior test engineer, test engineer, test analyst, test lead, QA manager, followed by program manager/COE head.
New trends in testing
New and emerging technologies such as Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Software-as-a-Service, Cloud Computing, virtualization and advent of mobile technologies are radically changing the trends in application testing. Some of the recent trends in software testing domain indicate an upsurge in:
- SOA Testing
- Security testing
- Testing in Cloud Computing environments
- Tool based regression automation and performance testing
- On-demand testing services
- Risk-Based testing
- VoIP application testing
- Health care
Risk-based testing is a new concept. As software organizations face increased pressure to complete testing in available time, risk-based testing approach is followed. Due to increase in business complexity, testing scope has been steadily increasing, but at the same time the testing window remains the same or is shrinking. In risk-based testing, areas having major business risks are tested before others. This way, it is ensured that at least business critical functionality is tested properly.
Challenges on the job
Just like in any other profession, the software testing profession also throws up a few challenges. And every challenge brings with it an opportunity to learn and grow. These challenges range from differential analytical ability, to effective communication with the developer.
Since software testing strongly relies on the testers’ analysis of the system and the ability to break down the system, testers ought to have strong analytical skills. Like any other skill, analytical skills can also be improved by practice, such as solving puzzles, taking challenges or reading books to improve one’s aptitude.
Certifications
Certifications in testing also play a major role in meeting the industry trends. A stamp of approval from a credible institute by means of certifications improves the confidence of the employers as well as clients on the testing professionals. There are several institutes such as, International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB), American Society For Quality (ASQ) and Quality Assurance International (QAI) that offer vendor neutral certifications. Tool specific certifications are available from OEMs such as IBM, HP, Borland, etc. Obtaining certifications like CSTE (Certified Software Test Engineer) from recognized institutions or from online certification site like Brainbench can help a professional get a competitive edge over others during recruitment.
Desired skills
Testing has established itself as a highly attractive profession. But in order to become a good tester, it is important to constantly update skills. As there are no formal courses on testing in graduate programmes, most of the testers are trained either in finishing schools for testing or in-house within companies
Testers act as gatekeepers for quality. Hence, it is important for testing professionals to possess good analytical skills to effectively communicate to the IT and business stakeholders, the criticality of defects in the system. They help IT teams predict and contain defects during development
Testers act as gatekeepers for quality. Hence, it is important for testing professionals to possess good analytical skills to effectively communicate to the IT and business stakeholders, the criticality of defects in the system. They help IT teams predict and contain defects during development.
Exposure to the convergence of business, technology and management paradigms catalyses career growth by opening up tremendous opportunities for testing professionals who can get groomed as program managers, subject matter experts or test architects.
Don’t worry if you don’t have some of the skills mentioned above. You can always learn them if you have interest. Non-IT personas can also grow fast by gaining necessary skills.
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